Piper Jaffray analyst Danielle Brill keeps an Overweight rating on Sage Therapeutics with a $206 price target following the company's Q2 results. The analyst does not expect meaningful Zulresso revenue until Q4, but the crux of her bullish thesis rests on SAGE-217, which she believes is "shaping up to be a transformative and differentiated new drug for mood-disorders." The stock's important near-term catalyst is the Phase 3 major depressive disorder data in Q4 of this year or Q1 of 2020. Brill says that given Sage's execution thus far and the "robust" data generated SAGE-217 to-date, she has a "high level of conviction" that the trial will be positive. A successful trial will "significantly de-risk" SAGE-217 and drive shares higher, says the analyst.

These names in the biotech sector are seeing a substantial increase in search activity today, as determined by InvestingChannel. They include: Intra-Cellular Therapies... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson lowered the firm's price target on Sage Therapeutics to $17 from $25 and keeps a Perform rating on the shares. The firm notes Phase 2 PRECEDENT topline results showed no difference in efficacy for SAGE-718 vs. placebo in PD-MCI patients, and it suspects investors are now discounting nearly the entire value of SAGE-718 by assuming direct read-across to ongoing studies in HD and AD MCI that read-out later this year. However, while Oppenheimer agrees with the negative read-across, it thinks it's limited by several distinct factors for the HD and AD studies, including differences in disease states driving MCI, inclusion criteria, sample size, endpoints, and duration of treatment.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

H.C. Wainwright analyst Douglas Tsao reiterates a Neutral rating on Sage Therapeutics after the company discontinued SAGE-718 in Parkinson's after the PRECEDENT study showed no benefit. The results are disappointing and, more importantly, raise concern about the upcoming top-line data readouts for SAGE-718 in Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm recognizes the differences between the indications, but it also sees similarities. As such, SAGE-718's lack of treatment effect in Parkinson's patients "gives us additional pause heading into the next set of readouts," contends H.C. Wainwright.

BofA downgraded Sage Therapeutics to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $14, down from $24.

Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.  HIGHER - Alcoa (AA)... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here